Teens with gun rob laptop from woman on porch near North Berkeley

Thursday’s robbery took place in the 1600 block of Sonoma Avenue, near Ventura Avenue, in Albany; the map marker’s location is approximate. The red line and shading indicate Berkeley. Image: Google Maps/Berkeleyside

A woman on her porch was working on her laptop when two young men armed with a gun grabbed the computer and ran off Thursday afternoon.

The incident took place in Albany just over the North Berkeley border.

Albany Police Chief Mike McQuiston said the woman was sitting in front of her home working on her computer in the 1600 block of Sonoma Avenue when the robbery took place. It was just before 2:45 p.m.

Police got numerous calls of a disturbance, and then the robbery reports came in. The Berkeley Police Department also got at least one report of the incident, according to dispatch traffic reviewed by Berkeleyside.

The woman told police she saw two young men walk toward her front door. One pulled out a handgun, “and no words were said,” said McQuiston. The other grabbed the woman’s computer, then the pair ran off.

According to a community report on NextDoor, the woman “started screaming and several neighbors and students from St. Mary’s ran over” to help.

Limited suspect description information was available but the robbers were described as black males who appeared 17-19 years old.

McQuiston said a responding officer spotted the getaway car, but was not able to stop it.

Multiple readers asked Berkeleyside on Thursday for information about the incident.

“This is quite alarming as it’s just down the street from our house,” wrote one woman.

Said another, “I live in Berkeley, just a couple blocks away and thought of Berkeleyside to spread the word. Since it is so close, still would be great to notify as these cars are cruising and casing very quickly. They were coming from Berkeley.”